The role of the anterior nuclei of the thalamus in human memory processing

Author(s):  
Catherine M. Sweeney-Reed ◽  
Lars Buentjen ◽  
Jürgen Voges ◽  
Friedhelm C. Schmitt ◽  
Tino Zaehle ◽  
...  
2018 ◽  
Vol Volume 10 ◽  
pp. 255-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shilpi Ahuja ◽  
Rebecca K Chen ◽  
Korey Kam ◽  
Ward D Pettibone ◽  
Ricardo S Osorio ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Alex Kelly ◽  
David Reitter ◽  
Robert West ◽  
Moojan Ghafurian

Computational models of distributional semantics (a.k.a. word embeddings) represent a word's meaning in terms of its relationships with all other words. We examine what grammatical information is encoded in distributional models and investigate the role of indirect associations. Distributional models are sensitive to associations between words at one degree of separation, such as 'tiger' and 'stripes', or two degrees of separation, such as 'soar' and 'fly'. By recursively adding higher levels of representations to a computational, holographic model of semantic memory, we construct a distributional model sensitive to associations between words at arbitrary degrees of separation. We find that word associations at four degrees of separation increase the similarity assigned by the model to English words that share part-of-speech or syntactic type. Word associations at four degrees of separation also improve the ability of the model to construct grammatical English sentences. Our model proposes that human memory uses indirect associations to learn part-of-speech and that the basic associative mechanisms of memory and learning support knowledge of both semantics and grammatical structure.


eLife ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine M Sweeney-Reed ◽  
Tino Zaehle ◽  
Jürgen Voges ◽  
Friedhelm C Schmitt ◽  
Lars Buentjen ◽  
...  

Previously we reported electrophysiological evidence for a role for the anterior thalamic nucleus (ATN) in human memory formation (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib29">Sweeney-Reed et al., 2014</xref>). Theta-gamma cross-frequency coupling (CFC) predicted successful memory formation, with the involvement of gamma oscillations suggesting memory-relevant local processing in the ATN. The importance of the theta frequency range in memory processing is well-established, and phase alignment of oscillations is considered to be necessary for synaptic plasticity. We hypothesized that theta phase alignment in the ATN would be necessary for memory encoding. Further analysis of the electrophysiological data reveal that phase alignment in the theta rhythm was greater during successful compared with unsuccessful encoding, and that this alignment was correlated with the CFC. These findings support an active processing role for the ATN during memory formation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (31) ◽  
pp. E7418-E7427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn J. Lohnas ◽  
Katherine Duncan ◽  
Werner K. Doyle ◽  
Thomas Thesen ◽  
Orrin Devinsky ◽  
...  

Mnemonic decision-making has long been hypothesized to rely on hippocampal dynamics that bias memory processing toward the formation of new memories or the retrieval of old ones. Successful memory encoding may be best optimized by pattern separation, whereby two highly similar experiences can be represented by underlying neural populations in an orthogonal manner. By contrast, successful memory retrieval is thought to be supported by a recovery of the same neural pattern laid down during encoding. Here we examined how hippocampal pattern completion and separation emerge over time during memory decisions. We measured electrocorticography activity in the human hippocampus and posterior occipitotemporal cortex (OTC) while participants performed continuous recognition of items that were new, repeated (old), or highly similar to a prior item (similar). During retrieval decisions of old items, both regions exhibited significant reinstatement of multivariate high-frequency activity (HFA) associated with encoding. Further, the extent of reinstatement of encoding patterns during retrieval was correlated with the strength (HFA power) of hippocampal encoding. Evidence for encoding pattern reinstatement was also seen in OTC on trials requiring fine-grained discrimination of similar items. By contrast, hippocampal activity showed evidence for pattern separation during these trials. Together, these results underscore the critical role of the hippocampus in supporting both reinstatement of overlapping information and separation of similar events.


Author(s):  
Michael C. Heller

This chapter looks at the various challenges—both conceptual and methodological—that private archives pose to historical research. This observation is no mere esoteric exercise; many musician archivists explicitly situate their work as an intervention into historiographical processes—an intervention that mirrors the musician-run ethos of the lofts themselves. The chapter is divided into three sections that correspond to different storage media in the collection: audio tape, paper, and human memory. Each of these media carries particular affordances and limitations, and they converse with each other in interesting ways. Drawing from literature of the recent “archival turn” in the humanities, the chapter argues that engaging with these affordances is essential to understanding the role of the archive as a generative force in the writing of history.


Author(s):  
Antonio Giuditta ◽  
Paola Mandile ◽  
Paola Montagnese ◽  
Stefania Piscopo ◽  
Stefania Vescia

Author(s):  
Elizabeth F. Loftus

This chapter describes the author’s studies of human memory and eyewitness testimony that drew her into a long involvement with the legal system. The history describes efforts on the part of lawyers and eyewitness scientists to introduce expert testimony about witness memory into legal cases. The author discusses the contamination of accurate memories due to misinformation after the fact, such as witnesses talking to one another or erroneous media, and the role of repressed memories in court cases. The chapter includes a brief description of the rocky path from early resistance to ultimate appreciation of the science and its usefulness in legal cases.


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